Bitcoin-Based ‘Space Pepes’ Led Weekly Trading Volumes Among NFT Collections

Pixelated pictures of "Pepe the Frog" comics riding spaceships were the latest allure for digital art collectors in the Web3 world.

The so-called Bitcoin-based “Space Pepes” collection became the most traded non-fungible tokens (NFTs) over a seven-day period, data from Cryptoslam shows, with over $7.3 million worth of the collection traded.

Each of these Space Pepes sells for just under $100, and data shows the bulk of trading volumes came on May 19. Volumes have since gradually fallen.

These weekly figures were higher than the popular Ethereum-based collection Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) and highlight a growing trend of Bitcoin-based artwork gaining popularity over its peers on other networks, such as Solana and Polygon, which were more prominently known among collectors.

BAYC and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), another collection from the same creators, logged a cumulative volume of $9 million. ImmutableX-based Gods Unchained clocked $4 million in volumes, while the controversial Milady collection saw $3 million worth traded.

As such, in the past thirty days, Bitcoin NFTs have grossed about $167 million in trading volumes, which is several figures shy of Ethereum’s near-$397 million. However, NFT sales on Bitcoin are nearly three times larger than on the Solana network, according to Cryptoslam, trailing behind at about $57 million.